Nutrition and the Man

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It’s men’s health month here at Empower. With Father’s day just around the corner and the summer reaching peak all of us guys are still looking for ways to feel and look our best.

Do you have mid-day crashes? Do you wish you could just drop that extra 10 pounds? Do you feel lethargic through most of the day? Bloated (yes, this is not only a problem women have but the difference is theirs is hormonal, ours is something else.) If any of these things apply I have one cure all for all of it.

Nutrition.

That’s right. No matter how much you work out, no matter how many days a week you hit the gym, no matter how often you stare into the mirror and ask that dreaded question, if your nutrition sucks you’ll never even get close to six-pack abs or <10% body fat.

Nutrition is the one key that virtually everyone can improve on. Stop. Wait. Go back and read that sentence again. I’m talking to you, the guy who read that the first time and said my nutrition is pretty good. No it isn’t. It sucks. It may not suck as bad as others but trust me it still sucks. Everyone, E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E can benefit from changes to their nutrition.

Here’s a nice quick article to read that can help you make some quick changes.

There are a few key fundamentals that are in this short article that are kind of hidden but can be applied to an even broader range of nutrition advice.

1) Just because it is low-fat doesn’t mean it’s okay to indulge in. (i.e. see Pretzels.)

2) If you gobble down a big burger or even a smoothie or high calorie protein drink after your workout you just set yourself back. I never understand why someone who completes a 30 minute workout needs to drink a 20 oz. Gatorade. My rule of thumb, if the workout isn’t over 90 minutes you don’t need a high calorie recovery drink. I’m not saying that recovery nutrition isn’t important, it most definitely is, but look at those labels. Most people, athletes not included, don’t need 25 grams of protein in their recovery meal. Be sensible. If it’s under 30, drink water, if it’s under 60 stick to low calorie supplement replenishment.

3) Coffee. I drink coffee. I drink it black. No sugar. No creamer. The average calories of a latte or frappuccino drink is roughly around 400-600 AT LEAST. That’s a meal right there. And it’s a high sugar, high caffeine meal as well which is probably the worst combination of ingredients you can put in your body at the same time. Without going into to many technical mumbo-jumbo terms what caffeine+sugar does to your hormonal levels looks like Pike’s Peak stuck in the middle of the Kansas flat-lands.

Nutrition is the Rosetta stone of fully unlocking your athletic potential. You can work out all you want and as hard as you want but without this one key factor you’ll never get to where you COULD go.

Mike Babbitt, M.F.A, M.A., CSCS, ACSM-HFI
USA Triathlon Level 1 Coach, Master Trainer
Mike is a Master Level trainer at Empower Personal Training. He has a unique approach to fitness that combines his scientific foundation of research and applied exercise physiology with his artistic experience as a professional stage actor. For more information about Empower Personal Training please call (919) 401-8024

Jump Start Your Metabolism

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Metabolism is a word that is often kicked around in day-to-day conversation as it relates to one’s fitness. How many times have you said or heard, “I’m not what I used to be, my metabolism must have slowed down?” The true definition of the word is the sum of the physical and chemical processes in an organism by which its substance is produced, maintained and destroyed and by which energy is made available. In short, your body takes the food you eat and converts it to energy you can use through a process called metabolism. Each person’s metabolic rate is different and can be influenced by how much food you consume, your age, your fitness level, your stress level and hereditary factors. Although it is true that your metabolism slows with age you can take measures to combat your body’s physiological changes. Try the two-step approach discussed below to jumpstart your metabolism and start receiving the many benefits of a healthy, strong body at any age.

Step One:
The first step you should take to immediately improve your metabolism is to eat light and often – starting with breakfast. Breakfast is just what it says – it is meant to break the fast from the night before and give you the energy your brain and muscles need to sustain all your daily activities. Your body is programmed to convert the foods you eat and drink into glucose to provide energy to every cell in your body. Your cells require energy 24 hours a day regardless of how often you eat to provide this fuel. When you skip breakfast or other meals, your body does not have glucose readily available so it starts to look toward your stored energy (glycogen) for fuel. Essentially your body goes into “starvation mode” where your glycogen stores become depleted and the body starts to look for its energy from other sources– first protein (lean muscle tissue) and secondly your fat stores. Once this process starts you begin to experience the immediate tell tale signs of a slowed metabolism: fatigue, decreased performance, mood swings, and a drop in strength. In order to combat this drop in energy you start to binge on the high fat, high calorie foods you crave in order to break this “starvation” – sound familiar? Unfortunately this cycle plays out many times throughout our fast paced lifestyle leaving us tired, uptight, miserable and out of shape. Over time a slowed metabolism can lead to weight gain and predispose you to other health risk factors.

Beginning with breakfast and ending with dinner you should make time to have small meals and snacks spaced every three to four hours throughout the day. A steady influx of nutrients will ensure that you “stoke” the fire of your metabolic rate. Good old fashioned slow burning carbohydrates consisting of whole grains, oats, fruits and vegetables, along with lean protein sources such as chicken, fish, egg whites and tofu are always the best food choices for energy throughout the day.

Step Two:
The second step to jump staring your metabolism involves incorporating exercise into your daily life. A full-body strength training regimen is a sure fire way to improve your metabolic rate by increasing your lean muscle tissue. Lean muscle is more metabolically active and therefore burns more calories throughout the day – even at rest. By adding just one pound of muscle to your frame you will be burning 30 – 50 more calories per day.

It is also helpful to ramp up your cardiovascular training and that might not be as hard as you think. Recent studies suggest you can receive many of the same benefits of cardiovascular conditioning with an interval training session. A sample treadmill interval workout starts with a few minutes of warm-up. Once your muscle tissue is warm and you start to break a light sweat, complete a 15-second sprint followed by a 45-second rest period. Repeat this cycle for a total of 15 minutes.

Other studies suggest that the shorter duration, higher intensity cardio sessions have a similar if not greater effect on cardiovascular improvements. This is good news for all of you with busy schedules. Now you can get the benefits of the traditional long, slow steady state cardio session completed in half the time! If time is of the essence you may even break-up what might be an hour-long workout into two half hour workouts throughout the day. Plan to incorporate cardio or interval training as well as strength training and be sure to allow at least a few hours in between workouts to recover properly. After settling into an exercise regimen, strive to keep the intensity level high and the exercises varied. If you continue to stress your body beyond your comfort level you will become stronger, feel more “toned” and ultimately increase your metabolism.

By making smart incremental choices throughout your day you can reap the rewards of a noticeable change in your metabolism. Eat breakfast and continue to eat light, frequent meals throughout the day, and add 30-60 minutes of exercise on most days of the week. You will soon be on your way to a faster metabolism and the positive results that come along with it: more energy, improved strength and a better-looking physique.

Matthew Alegre, CSCS Master Trainer
With over 10 years of experience in the health and fitness industry, Matthew has trained clients from a variety of fitness backgrounds. His expertise extends from those with special needs and disabilities to Olympic level athletes. For more information about Empower Personal Training please call (919) 401-8024.

VitaBot….How to Enroll

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VitaBot offers a tool to plan meals and give complete balanced nutrition information. In an industry focused primarily on counting calories, VitaBot was designed to shift the focus toward balanced nutrition. VitaBot uses advanced mathematics to “think” for the user, and helps them to easily put foods together, not just balance calories, but to balance micronutrients as well. VitaBot performs hundreds of thousands of calculations for every set of nutritional suggestions. The equations and the resulting suggestions are designed to allow the nutritional data to speak directly to the user, without personal interpretation.

The VitaBot program requires a one-time activation fee of $40 or a one-time Set-Up Consultation with our Registered Dietician and activation fee for $89. After activation, a re-occurring monthly fee of $20 for clients / $30 for non-clients is required to keep the account active. Please see your trainer or call the studio @ (919) 401-8024 to set up your VitaBot account.

I encourage everyone check out http://becomepowerful.vitabot.com and click on “Watch the Demo.” I truly believe that this system can make or break your progress and hard work at the Empower studio. Enjoy!

Matthew Alegre, CSCS Master Trainer
With over 10 years of experience in the health and fitness industry, Matthew has trained clients from a variety of fitness backgrounds. His expertise extends from those with special needs and disabilities to Olympic level athletes. For more information about Empower Personal Training please call (919) 401-8024.

VitaBOT- Empower's New Online Nutrition Tracking Tool

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It’s common knowledge that health and fitness goals are achieved through 40% exercise and 60% nutrition adherence. It’s also common knowledge that 92% of percentages are made up……All kidding aside, if you’re not reaching your full potential while adhering to a sound exercise regimen, you may need to take look at your nutrition. 

Empower Personal Training is excited to launch VitaBot, a new online nutrition tool that is much like a report card for your diet.  Unlike many online diet journals, VitaBOT’s unique technology allows for precise tracking of calories, vitamin and mineral content, all the while being very user friendly and easy to learn. I use the program myself and encourage all the Decathlon participants (who get a 14 day free trial) to check it out.

This unique service will be available to all clients starting Nov.1, 2009.  Call the studio or ask your trainer for more details.   I’m 98.5% certain that incorporating VitaBOT will help you reach your full potential, feel better and complement your hard work in the studio. Check it out!

For more information about VitaBOT you can watch a demo here.

Matthew Alegre, CSCS Master Trainer
With over 10 years of experience in the health and fitness industry, Matthew has trained clients from a variety of fitness backgrounds. His expertise extends from those with special needs and disabilities to Olympic level athletes. For more information about Empower Personal Training please call (919) 401-8024.